


She Likes Her Boys (To Be Girls)

by bestkindofbadsomething



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: And Mal isn't nearly as scary as everyone thinks she is, Evie Doesn't Really Want Any of the Boys, F/F, Feisty Evie, Harassment, Loner Mal, Or Maybe She's Just a Fool for Evie, Public Scene, She Just Wants Mal, unwanted romantic advances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 13:26:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17387219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bestkindofbadsomething/pseuds/bestkindofbadsomething
Summary: At another new school, Evie quickly finds herself the center of every boy's attention as they immediately begin vying for her affection. But Evie finds herself more interested in the school's declared 'dangerous' loner girl, Mal, and she makes sure every boy knows it.





	She Likes Her Boys (To Be Girls)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back!  
> It's been a while, too long, since I've written anything and it only feels right to begin with my main ship, Malvie! So, here you guys go! A new Malvie oneshot that I hope you all enjoy!

Attention was something she had been taught at an early age to encourage, to bask in, to siphon from everyone willing or not willing to give it to her. It had been ingrained into her to demand attention in subtle ways. But as she grew up, forced to switch schools every few years she had yet to find the correct boy to become her _'prince'_ \- as her mother always referred to it - she also grew wary of the game her mother had mapped out for her. Go to school, find a _'prince'_ , become a trophy wife. And the horrible thing was that she had been okay with that, wanted it herself even, for a time.

            But now, at seventeen-years of age and entering another new school, it was the last thing she wanted.

            Evie now wanted to attend school for her education, not to find a husband; she wanted to let everyone know just how intelligent she was instead of playing dumb to attract boys; she wanted to plan her own life and future as she went, figuring out what she herself wanted, not what her mother wanted of her. She was intelligent and beautiful, and she wanted to quit pretending that she didn't have a mind of her own.

            And so, she had vowed to herself that doing so was exactly what she would focus on from the day she stepped into her new school until the day she took her last breath. She was nearly eighteen, having lived her life forced to fight her way back to the top because her mother had always dragged her back to the bottom every time, and she wouldn't allow her mother to control her life anymore. Fortunately, it being her senior year finally, her mother wouldn't be able to switch her schools again. She only had one year of high-school left and she planned on doing everything she could to impress, so she could find a good college and get away from her mother's insanity; and maybe, if she could, find a way to flaunt her disobedience in her mother's face.

            She was no longer a pawn of her mother's game.

            Unfortunately, her newfound will to live her own life seemed to arrive at the _worst_ possible time, and she found this out the very second she stepped into the halls of her new school, her mother's every wish seeming to chase her around everywhere she went.

            _"Whoa, dude, look at the new girl! She's hot!"_

_"Think she'll go for me?"_

_"I wouldn't hold your breath, bro. I bet I'm more her type."_

_"I guess we'll see. May the best man win."_

            Evie scoffed, busying herself with testing her new locker combination; _none of you are my type_. It wasn't even fourth period and she had already overheard plenty of conversations with the same base and had been approached by at least eleven confident boys, thinking they would be walking away triumphantly with her number in their phones. She had sent them all away without so much as a smile, yet they kept coming, each one thinking they would succeed where the last one had failed.

            Before, she would have accepted the ongoing flow of attention, stringing all of them along until she could deduce which one would be the best suited for her future. Unfortunately for them, their interest had come too late.

            When she caught another approaching boy in her peripheral vision, she quickly closed her locker, pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she started the other way. Of course, this hadn't deterred the boy, who clearly figured she just hadn't seen him and had just been simply heading to her next class, unaware of his obvious interest.

            "Slow down there," the boy called to her, and she already knew she detested him more than any of the others. "You look like you're trying to get away from someone."

            "I wonder why that could be," Evie said under her breath.

            "What class do you have next?" The boy asked, falling into step beside her despite her best efforts to remain ahead of him. "Maybe I could show you the way."

            Evie didn't even answer, she just kept walking. But every step she took, he mirrored.

            "Look at me, where are my manners?" He laughed as if he had said something immensely amusing. He held out his hand. "My name is Chad."

            "Interesting," Evie deadpanned, glancing at his extended hand before shifting her gaze back to the hallway in front of her, making it obvious that she was refusing his attempts.

            "Well, it's only polite to tell me your name, now that you know mine."

            _Ugh,_ she groaned internally, fighting the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes; _he even flirts like an ass._ "I see what you're doing, but it's never going to go anywhere."

            "Oh, come on, babe, you don't even know me," Chad deflected her rejection as if she hadn't been clear enough with her words. "Take a chance."

            Evie turned the corner abruptly, hoping to shake the boy off, but instead found herself colliding with someone. She was nearly irritated by it, figuring it was just another boy trying to _'accidentally'_ begin a conversation with her by giving her no choice, but when she noticed it was a smaller, purple-haired girl, her frustration immediately wore off as an idea crashed into her like the girl had.

            "Oh, my goodness! I was looking _everywhere_ for you!"

            The girl looked up at her, eyes narrowed in confusion as she took Evie in, obviously noting that she didn't know her. _Please, oh, please, just go with it._ She looked pleadingly into the girl's sea-green eyes, trying her best not to notice how mesmerizing they were and instead attempting to get the other girl to understand what she was asking of her.

            "You know _this_ girl?" Chad asked from beside her, his tone that of one who was disgusted.

            Just when Evie thought her spontaneous plan would fail and she would be left looking like a fool - although, maybe looking like a fool would get rid of this boy - the girl's gaze found hers again after having briefly flickered over the boy next to her and her lips upturned into a friendly smile.

            "I'm sorry, I got held up by the history teacher," the girl replied to Evie, completely ignoring the presence of the boy. "You remember, I told you he's a pain in everyone's asses."

            Evie couldn't hide her relief. "I do, I hope I don't have any problems with him."

            The green-eyed girl laughed as she beckoned for Evie to follow her, almost as if she were about to lead her to a place they had discussed earlier. "Oh, you will."

            A genuine smile forming on her lips for the first time, Evie followed the girl's direction and fell into step beside her; maybe a little too close for two people who had just met, but she never had cared too much for personal space unless the other person had made it clear that they didn't want her touching them. She didn't even look back to see if the boy was still following her, but after a few more steps she could tell that he wasn't. And the other girl seemed to realize this too because she suddenly split from her and turned down the left hallway without saying another word to her.

            "Wait!" Evie called after the girl, following a few steps until she had stopped to turn around and look at her again, her eyebrow arched beneath her bangs and her face expressing mild irritation. She noted the way the girl's fingers drummed impatiently against the textbook she was carrying. _Great, now_ I'm _the creep who follows strangers._ At that thought, she found the other girl's gaze - which proved to be a challenge - and got out what she wanted to say. "Thank you for helping me. What's your name?"

            Sea-green met red-brown for another second before a small, slightly awkward smile appeared to grace the girl's features. "You're welcome."

            Evie smiled at the sound of the girl's voice again, but found it faltering immediately when the girl turned to walk away from her, not giving her a name. She sighed as she watched the nameless girl disappear in the crowd of scurrying students. _Well, at least my first day is going fantastic,_ she thought, sarcastically; _I know the name of every boy who attends this school, but not the name of the one person who is kind enough to help a complete stranger._ She guessed she would just have to refer to her as the beautiful, mysterious stranger, how cliché it sounded making her smile.

            Glancing around at her surroundings, she pulled her schedule from her bag and turned around to find her next classroom. It was the last period before senior-junior lunch, and she didn't even want to think about how many of the boys would offer her seats at their table beside them when the time came. She pushed the idea from her mind, deciding to ignore it until it was an immediate issue.

            When she got to the classroom, she decided to sit in a seat in the front after clarifying with the teacher that there was no seating chart. Sighing as she sat down, she pulled the appropriate textbook from her bag where she had set it on the floor beside her chair.

            A blur of movement in her peripheral vision appeared just before a voice spoke. "Excuse me?"

            And something inside Evie snapped just a little. "Can I please just get through _one_ period without being hit on?"

            The boy who had spoken cleared his throat before reaching over to place a pen of hers on the desk in front of her. At the sight of the pen being set on her desk, she shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. _Oh, goodness. What have I done?_ The pen must have fell from her bag when she had pulled her book out, and all he had been trying to do was return it to her.

            She turned to look at the boy, who was now looking forward to wait for the teacher to begin class. "I'm sorry, I just…"

            "Haven't had a break from the boys in this school trying to court you?" The boy finished for her, his brown eyes shifting to meet her redder ones. She had an issue with him making it sound so formal because it was anything but; despite this, she didn't say anything. "I've had a few classes with you already."

            Evie internally scolded herself. "Goodness, I'm so sorry…"

            He laughed, a heart-warming smile accompanying the sound. "It's okay, really. You don't owe me an apology. I get it, trust me."

            The bell rang, indicating that class had officially started, but Evie felt as though she couldn't leave it at that. "I'm Evie, by the way."

            The boy returned his gaze to hers. "I'm Carlos. And you don't have to worry about me ever hitting on you," his smile brightened as he leaned across the aisle between their desks, closer to her, quieting his voice. "You're not exactly my type."

            At first, Evie found herself slightly confused as to what his type of girl was, but as soon as she met his gaze more directly, she understood his meaning. She laughed, not entirely sure why. "Got it." She nodded once in understanding, winking at him playfully.

            He just smiled at her again before facing the front of the class again.

            Once the teacher read the syllabus and collected all the sheets the students had been forced to sign to document their agreement to behave during class hours, they were allowed to talk for the rest of the class, the promise of actual assignments beginning tomorrow looming over them. And the time seemed to go by quickly, the sound of the bell ringing actually startling Evie when it pierced the air. Gathering her things, she settled her bag on her shoulder and approached Carlos' desk.

            "Hey," she smiled down at him when he looked up at her. "Do you mind if I sit with you at lunch?"

            "Hoping to avoid all those desperate teen boys?" Carlos questioned teasingly, arching his eyebrow as he stood.

            He was about the same height as her, and she was a little surprised to figure out how short he was, but then she remembered that her heeled boots placed her a few inches taller than her actual height. He still wasn't tall, given that information, but he wasn't necessarily short, either. She didn't know why any of it mattered.

            Evie smiled almost shyly. "Yes."

            "Of course, you can sit with me," Carlos agreed delightedly, and she followed him back into the hallway. "But you should know that hanging out with me will mark you as an outcast. Are you ready for that responsibility?"

            "An outcast?" Evie questioned, slightly confused.

            Carlos chuckled. "Because I'm one," he answered, pointing out the people who watched them in a judging manner as they passed. "You see? Already an outcast."

            "Well," Evie released a breath, ignoring meeting anyone's eyes, afraid that she would find one of the insistent boys who refused to leave her alone. "Maybe that's for the best."

            "Oh, the boys will still try to get you to join their crowd, I assure you," Carlos announced, and he laughed when Evie groaned audibly. "But just ignore them, and stick with us, and you'll be fine after a while."

            "Us?" Evie found herself asking before she could stop herself. She knew how she sounded, assuming that he had been a loner, and she even hated herself for the way it had come out.

            But Carlos didn't seem to. "Yeah, there are a few other outcasts at my level. There's Jay, who may flirt with you, but know it's completely harmless and he doesn't actually mean it, he never does. There's Jane, who's quiet, even around us, but you won't find anyone sweeter than her. And then there's Lonnie, who also turned down all the attempts at recruiting her the popular kids made and instead chose us."

            "Sounds like a great little group of friends."

            "What's that saying?" Carlos seemed to ask himself, but Evie could tell it was only for added affect. "Better to have four quarters than one-hundred pennies."

            Evie laughed, contradicting the way her eyes rolled in annoyance. "How incredibly cheesy of you."

            "That's why I'm a lady's man," Carlos brushed off her words, pointing towards the lunch line closest to them. "Alright, this is the sandwich line; the one next to it is whatever special there is for the day; that one is for vegetarians; then that one is anything you put on a bun, like burgers and chicken sandwiches and hotdogs, that sort of thing; and that one farthest from us is the _fancy_ food for the rich kids."

            "Alright, so stay away from that one. Got it," Evie noted, glancing around the open courtyard that made up the cafeteria. It almost reminded her of a park with its food trucks and activities. She found a vendor that Carlos hadn't listed. "And that one?"

            "Oh, that one is _my_ personal favorite and where I'm headed," Carlos said as he began his journey across the courtyard to the back of the line. "The pizza line!"

            "Okay," Evie breathed out, glancing around at the options before keeping close to Carlos. "I like pizza."

            "Who doesn't?" Carlos questioned, smiling at her over his shoulder.

            They went through the line silently after that, Carlos helping her figure out how everything worked without speaking, both of them keeping to their own thoughts as they made their way to a table where a small, timid-looking girl already sat poking at her salad with a plastic fork. Evie sat beside Carlos, smiling kindly at the girl now sitting across from her, trying to help soothe the obvious worry spreading through her eyes.

            "Jane, this is Evie," Carlos began his introduction as another boy slid his tray onto the table and sat across from him.

            "The new girl that every guy seems to want," the new arrival finished for Carlos, even if that wasn't how Carlos was planning to end his introduction. His smile was crooked and mischievous, and Evie almost shifted uncomfortably due to it but managed to keep herself still instead of showing the tanned boy how he affected her. "You must be something quite special, huh? To have both Chad Charming _and_ the school's King, Ben, all over you."

            Evie laughed nervously, glancing around at the various pairs of eyes that watched her, each of them belonging to boys spread out around the cafeteria area. "I'm really not."

            "You're unnaturally beautiful," the boy argued, and Evie remembered Carlos' warning that his friend Jay might flirt with her, but that he was harmless. "That's enough for most boys."

            "Well," Evie cleared her throat, trying her best to regain her composure. She was never timid or nervous, she had no idea why this school seemed to make her so. "I'm not interested in _any_ of them."

            "You into girls then?"

            "Jay!" Carlos exclaimed, reaching across the table to smack the boy. "You can't just ask people that!"

            "And why not?" Jay arched his eyebrow, eyes traveling over Carlos as a smirk danced over his lips. "Am I supposed to just assume that everyone's straight?"

            Evie honestly had no idea what was happening anymore, so she just picked up her pizza and began to eat, leaving the two boys to figure out their difference in opinion.

            "She looks gay to me," Jay was saying as he shrugged.

            "How does someone _look_ gay, Jay?" Carlos asked afterward, clearly affronted by Jay's behavior.

            Evie was going to say something, maybe confirm Jay's suspicions, but when she lifted her gaze, she instead found her undivided attention zapped away from the table as she caught purple moving by their table. She watched the purple-haired mystery girl walk by, no food in her hands except for a single apple, her gaze cast down at the book she held as she made her way to a tree a good distance from the outside cafeteria. _How did she not run into anything?_ It was an honest question considering the girl hadn't once looked up from her book for even a brief glance at what was ahead of her. Entranced by the girl, she continued watching her as she tossed her bag carelessly on the ground beneath the tree before settling against the trunk, her legs stretching out in front of her.

            She remembered how beautiful the girl was. Her plump, naturally pouting lips, her prominent cheekbones, her sharp jawline, and her eyes - those eyes: the hypnotizing sea-green eyes that had nearly taken Evie's breath away when she had first looked into them.

            Without caring if she was interrupting, she turned to Carlos and grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. "Who is she?"

            "Who is who?" Carlos requested clarification, his thick eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

            Letting her gaze travel back to where the girl sat alone, she gestured in the general direction she looked, hoping Carlos could follow her gaze well enough to figure out who she was talking about. The girl sat there by herself, seemingly content in being alone and ignoring everyone else's existence. It intrigued Evie.

            "You mean the girl with long magenta hair she believes is purple? The girl with the bangs?" Carlos asked, blowing out a breath when Evie nodded. "That's Mal. She's the only one in this school more hated than us."

            "Why is she hated?" Evie questioned honestly, astounded by the idea that anyone could hate a girl kind enough to selflessly help her get rid of unwanted attention.

            Jay laughed. "You're joking, right? You've been here half a day and _haven't_ heard about her?"

            "I have," Evie admitted quickly, finally moving her gaze back to the boys with her. "I mean… I ran into her. She doesn't seem bad. She was really nice to me."

            "Mal? _Mal_ was nice to you?" Carlos questioned, bewildered by the idea.

            "Yes. There was a boy following me who wouldn't take no for an answer, and when I ran into her, quite literally," Evie allowed her eyes to travel back to the beautiful stranger. "I pretended to know her, hoping the boy would lose interest now that I had a friend with me, and she pretended to know me too."

            "Did it work?"

            "That part doesn't matter, Jay," Evie rolled her eyes, smiling despite her actions. "Who is she? Why do people hate her?"

            "She's just…" Carlos paused, seemingly not knowing how to put his response into words with the knowledge that Evie seemed to like the girl. "She's not great company to keep. She'll get you in trouble."

            "She doesn't like anyone and the only time she talks is to insult people or threaten them," added Jay, not wanting to leave Carlos to explain it to Evie alone. His eyebrows furrowed as he focused on Evie. "She's kind of insane and very dangerous, not even _I_ would take my chances with her."

            After only another moment of staring at the girl, Evie pushed to her feet.

            "Evie, what are you doing?"

            "I'm going to go talk to her," Evie stated as she hauled her bag over her shoulder and started toward the girl she had ran into earlier. She didn’t believe for a second that the purple-haired girl was dangerous, and she _definitely_ didn't believe she could be insane. She called over her shoulder, "don't worry about it!"

            Unlike the girl had before her, she watched where she was going as she weaved through the many tables on her way to the tree that shaded the reading girl from the sun. She had no idea what she was doing or what she was going to say once she reached the girl, but she never faltered in her steps as the distance between them swiftly dissipated due to Evie's quick pace. She stopped a few feet in front of the girl's outstretched legs and was met with sea-green before she could even part her lips to say anything.

            And suddenly, everything she had thought about saying was forgotten. She once again turned into a nervous girl who was out of her element in approaching someone.

            "Can I help you, Princess?" The girl questioned, the nickname falling passed her lips after her gaze studied the crown braid Evie had done this morning.

            _Yeah, you could help me with a lot,_ Evie thought; _like telling me if you’re secretly evil._

            "Do you mind if I join you?"

            Those stunning eyes trailed over Evie's body - or maybe she was looking at her outfit - for a moment. "You don't seem like the type to sit in a pile of dirt underneath a tree."

            It wasn't spoken as an insult, like she would have expected given what Carlos and Jay had said about the girl, but merely as an observation. At this, Evie glanced down at the dirt and grass surrounding the trunk of the tree.

            "Well," she started, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "You're not wrong."

            Bangs shifted with a movement that Evie could only assume was the girl's eyebrows raising, but before she could do anything else, Mal set her book aside to remove the leather jacket from her body. Evie could only watch in curiosity as the girl laid it out on the ground beside her before meeting Evie's gaze and gesturing for her to join her.

            For some reason, Evie's cheeks heated as she moved to sit beside the girl. She had a feeling that the boys she had left were watching her closely, but she didn't dare glance back at them. "Thank you."

            They sat there for a moment in silence, and it was almost comfortable, just sitting with the girl. _How is she dangerous?_ Evie really couldn't wrap her mind around the idea. Evie cleared her throat softly, flicking her eyes to scan the side of the other girl's face. "So, you never told me your name."

            "I never intended to," she replied easily, seeming disinterested, which disheartened Evie. However, everything shifted when the girl lifted her gaze to meet Evie's, the intensity behind her stare threatening to pull apart Evie's entire being. "But I'm guessing you already know it."

            Evie didn't stop herself from nodding. "It's Mal, isn't it?"

            Mal hummed, shifting her attention back to her book. "And your name is Evie."

            "How do you know that?" Evie questioned, not remembering having ever told the girl her name, either.

            "I'm… observant."

            "That certainly doesn't sound creepy," Evie laughed lightly, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear when it obscured her view of the other girl.

            Mal looked at her then. "There was a piece of paper hanging out of the textbook you were holding when you ran into me. Name and date printed on it."

            Evie couldn't help but smile, and Mal added, "I told you. I'm observant."

            "So, you are," Evie spoke, barely more than a whisper. And as if she had no social skills, no interpretation of what was appropriate, she asked, "Why is everyone afraid of you?"

            At this, Mal snorted. "I wouldn't say they're _afraid_ of me. Just that they don't really care for my existence. No one does."

            "I do."

            "You don’t know me."

            "I don’t have to," Evie stated honestly, having made up her mind about the girl as soon as she had helped her. "You didn't have to help me earlier today, but you did."

            "No girl wants Chad Charming on their heels," Mal replied, turning back to her book as if ignoring how kind her gesture had been, as if hoping Evie wouldn't read more into it. "You looked desperate, so I helped. Anyone would have."

            "See, that's the thing," Evie started, wishing the girl would look at her again. "Most people actually _wouldn't_ help a complete stranger."

            Mal was silent for a long moment, staring at her book but not reading the words printed on the pages. The silence didn't trouble Evie, she simply took the time to study the girl's features again - those full, pouting lips, her small nose where the bridge sloped down to the tip of her nose as if it was a ramp, her cheekbones, the length of her eyelashes, completely devoid of any mascara.

            Mal truly was beautiful, and she was definitely the only one so far in this school that caught Evie's attention. So, chances were, Mal would want absolutely nothing to do with her.

            "What point are you trying to make?" Mal's question was soft, almost like she didn't actually want to know the answer.

            "I'm not really trying to make any point," Evie answered honestly; she had only wanted to let Mal know that she appreciated her aid, and that what she had done was a rare act of selflessness that not everyone would extend to a stranger. "I'm just trying to thank you for helping me, even though we don't know each other."

            After letting those words out, she stood, careful not to step on the girl's jacket as she began heading toward the table she had left behind. However, she only took a few steps before Mal's voice was stopping her where she stood.

            "Did you _want_ to?"

            Eyebrows reaching toward each other to show her lack of understanding, Evie turned to face the girl.

            "Know each other," Mal clarified, finishing her sentence more completely. "Did you _want_ to know me? Is that why you asked for my name and then approached me even though I never gave it to you?"

            For the first time this day, Evie found herself struggling to refrain from flirting, struggling to keep her eyes where they should be and her voice normal. "That _was_ my intention."

            Mal studied her in curiosity and wonder, and Evie let her take all the time she needed to search for her sincerity, for any off-setting sign that there was something wrong with her offer. Then, after what felt like hours, Mal's lips curved upward the slightest bit. "Maybe, Princess."

            "I'll take that as a good sign," Evie offered Mal her flirtatious smile, noting the way her head tilted to the side in confusion as she studied the way Evie looked at her. "For now, though…?"

            She trailed off, hoping Mal was already good enough at reading her to understand where she was going with the conversation. Somehow, she knew Mal had a talent for reading people.

            "I will gladly help you chase off any unwanted boys."

            "Then we shall be seeing _a lot_ more of each other," Evie's smile brightened as she began walking again, delighted that Mal had walked right into the trap she had set. "And you have a lot of work to do."

            When she glanced over her shoulder, she found Mal shaking her head in amusement, the slight smile still gracing her already beautiful features. And when she sat back down at the table beside Carlos, she only continued eating her now cold pizza, not uttering a single word about her conversation with the school's declared _'dangerous girl'_.

****

Three weeks later - as Carlos had said they would - the boys were still suffocating her with their nearly constant presence, their flirting now accompanied by questions referring to why she hung out with Carlos, Jay, Lonnie and Jane when she could be popular throughout the school. If she had been tired of it the first day of school, she had now grown insane with frustration at the amount of harassment she had to endure.

            She had tried everything. Telling them no bluntly, saying she enjoyed her friends, telling them that she didn't care about popularity; even Lonnie and Jay had tried telling them to leave her alone, but they still poured over her like a great waterfall of testosterone. She had even gone to the authority figures, but they had turned her away as quickly as they would if she had been asking for a change in schedule, saying they hadn't seen any evidence of the harassment she claimed was occurring. They had said it was simply students trying to be kind to the new girl and include her in their activities.

            And to make the matter worse, some of the boys even went so far as becoming possessive over her by harassing Mal as well, telling the school's _'dangerous'_ loner to stay away from Evie or there would be consequences. They just couldn't seem to understand that she preferred her _'outcast'_ and _'loner'_ friends. Unfortunately, her friends also didn't understand why she spent time with Mal, but she didn't feel like she needed to explain herself when it came to the girl; she liked Mal, she was different from everyone else and made Evie feel as though she _were_ actually special without tripping over her and suffocating her with horrendously offensive advances.

            Evie knew she was mere moments away from cracking.

            After gathering the items for her first three classes from her locker, she headed to the hallway Carlos' locker was located in. They had made a habit of walking to their shared first period together every morning since they had become friends, and since she was almost always earlier than Carlos, she met him at his locker in the morning. Sometimes, she even beat him there, but she never minded waiting for him, especially not on the days where Mal was early as well, her locker being located just down the hall from Carlos'. However, today, Carlos was already at his locker, and the mysterious, green-eyed girl was nowhere to be seen.

            "Hey," Evie smiled warmly at Carlos.

            "Hey!" Carlos greeted, sliding a thinner textbook into his locker with practiced ease. "Did you finish the homework for Advanced English? I couldn't get to it last night. Jay dragged me into some incredibly stupid plot he had."

            Evie raised her eyebrows suggestively, having since caught on to Carlos' huge crush on Jay. "Did he now? Did you at least get a kiss out of it?"

            "Shut up!" Carlos groaned, rolling his eyes. "Jay's straight."

            "He so isn't," Evie retorted with a giggle, almost offended that Carlos hadn't been able to pick up the way Jay always flirted openly with him. "I can't believe you can't see how into both genders he is."

            "How could I? No one _looks_ gay, Evie," Carlos mumbled, glancing cautiously around the hallway as if he were expecting Jay to appear out of nowhere and overhear their conversation about him. "No matter what Jay says."

            "Oh, I don't know about that," Evie breathed, her gaze flickering up when she caught a flash of purple just ahead. A smile slowly reshaped her lips as her eyes locked with Mal's while the other girl passed by them to get to her locker. "Some people you can just _feel_ their gay."

            Carlos glanced at her, his eyebrow raising when she finally took her eyes off Mal. "Are we talking about anyone specific?"

            "Maybe," Evie replied evasively, winking playfully at the boy. "It's not for you to know, though."

            A light laugh escaped Carlos before his eyes focused on something behind her. She figured he was looking at Mal, having caught on to her insinuation, but she knew the second that the smile fell from his face that he wasn't watching the purple-haired girl. "Look out, popular nerd heading your way."

            Evie groaned, turning around to find Doug coming to a halt a little too close for her to be comfortable. She took a step back into Carlos to increase the distance between her and the other boy; Carlos didn't seem to mind.

            "Hey, Evie, did you finish yesterday's Chem homework?"

            "Yes, I did," Evie answered, not caring that disappointment now clouded Doug's expression. She knew he had been hoping to help her with it before classes began, he had been trying to get her to agree to letting him be her tutor for a week now. "I'm familiar with the content, I don't need help in Chemistry."

            "Do you need help in any other classes?" Doug asked quickly, clearly picking up that Evie was trying to end the conversation there. "I'm quite knowledgeable in every subject, you know."

            "As you've mentioned a hundred times," Evie sighed. Despite having said the words under her breath, she hoped he had heard them; she knew Carlos had by the way he tried covering his laugh with an uncomfortable cough.

            Glancing over Doug's shoulder to the hallway beyond him, she found Mal leaning against her locker, watching them closely, eyes narrowed and lips pressed together. If Evie didn't know better, she might even say the girl appeared jealous. When Mal's gaze flickered to meet Evie's, she arched her eyebrows beneath her bangs, her silent question traveling the hallway to reach Evie; _need some help?_

            And that's when an idea came to Evie. It was a wild, completely irrational idea, but it brought a devious smile to her lips for that exact reason. It was insane, and she really should have pushed the thought aside as soon as it flashed before her, but the longer she stared into Mal's eyes, knowing that the sea-green color of her irises was splattered with gold, she found herself having to go through with it. The smile lighting her features was one that rivalled Jay's mischievous smirk as she shook her head the slightest bit in response to Mal's question, denying her offer _._ The other girl seemed unsure about the response but stayed where she was, arms crossed over her chest, shoulder pressed against her lock, and fierce eyes watching Doug cautiously.

            "Well, maybe we could be study buddies," Doug suggested instead, trying his best to get her attention back to him and get her to agree to something that would involve them spending time together outside their brief conversations at school. "We could…"

            But Evie tuned the rest out as soon as she found Chad Charming watching them, his smirk confident and lazy, as if he planned to approach after Doug failed and succeed where the nerdy boy hadn't. She also found Ben, the politest out of the boys who had been trying to pursue her these past few weeks, standing beside Chad, trying his best not to appear as though he was interested in the result of Doug's meeting with Evie. If she had to choose between the three boys, she would pick Ben in a heartbeat, but little did they know someone else entirely was about to get everything they so desperately begged for from her.

            "I'm sorry, Doug," Evie interrupted whatever the boy had been saying, plastering the kindest smile she could manage onto her face. "Could you excuse me for just one second?"

            "Yeah, of course," he replied, tucking his hands awkwardly into his pockets. "Do you want me to wait here?"

            Evie gave him the smallest of nods, glancing at a baffled Carlos before stepping around Doug and making her way down the hallway. She watched as Chad straightened from his lazy lounging position, clearly believing her to be making her way to him; he even went so far as to sneer over her shoulder at Doug, believing himself the triumphant boy in their joined endeavors. However, the only acknowledgement she gave the boy was a misleading smile as she breezed passed him, continuing a few strides to make it to her true destination.

            Mal just lifted her eyebrows in question as Evie approached her, her teeth rolling the inside of her lip around her mouth in the way she often did - a habit Evie didn't really understand but definitely adored. Evie could feel her heart pounding with the knowledge that her friend and the three boys after her affection were watching her, all wondering what she was doing. Even Mal clearly had no idea what Evie had in store for them all. Evie didn't think any of them could have guessed correctly even if they had been given longer to figure it out.

            Never slowing her pace, Evie brought her hand up to press into Mal's upper-chest, using a slightly rough force to push the shorter girl up against the lockers. Mal's gasp of surprise was cut off by Evie sealing their lips together forcefully as she got rid of every centimeter of space between them, pressing herself into Mal to pin her between the metal of the lockers and her body. Her lips curved with delight at the groan breathed into her mouth as she pressed harder into Mal, and she took the opportunity to brush her tongue through parted lips when she felt Mal's hands finding refuge on her sides.

            The hall had fallen completely silent around them, and she knew that everyone that hadn't been previously involved was now certainly watching the scene unfold with rapt attention. To be fair, Evie didn't think this was the kind of thing they saw everyday at this school. She almost wished she could see the expressions on Doug's and Chad's faces, but it was only on her mind for a brief moment before she found it far too easy to forget about them as Mal's lips moved messily against hers and their tongues tangled together, seeming to forget that they were two separate organs. It was far too simple to get lost in Mal.

            However, she figured the others had gotten enough of a show, so she - very reluctantly - pulled herself from Mal's lips, feeling more satisfied than she should with the string of saliva that kept them connected for a breath longer as they separated. Brushing the fallen saliva that confirmed just how messy their kiss had been from her chin, she opened her eyes to find darkened green eyes watching her as though she were a wonder to this entire universe.

            "I suppose you could just do _that_ instead of accepting my help," Mal breathed against her lips, gaze falling to Evie's lips for a lingering moment. "And make yourself even more of a wonder to this school."

            A smile took over Evie's features as she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and removed herself from the girl's loose embrace to begin walking down the hallway, completely aware that everyone was staring at her as they parted to let her pass. She had no idea if that stunt would finally shake the boys off her case, but she found herself not caring if they kept coming because she supposed it just meant that she'd have to be more frequent with her advances on Mal - that is, so long as Mal didn't mind them, which, after the way the girl had eagerly returned her kiss, she didn't think it would be an issue. And when she finally allowed herself to glance over her shoulder to see Chad's and Doug's reaction, she instead found her gaze falling on the girl following swiftly after her, intense gaze locked on her as she ignored everyone else in the premises.

            She didn't think the boys would be much a problem anymore, not with Mal by her side more often to remind them of the true extent of her lack of interest in them.


End file.
